Cal Basketball: Bears Get Past Nicholls State; Arizona State Is Next
Cal warmed up for its Pac-12 opener by beating Nicholls State 60-49 on Monday in the Bears' home opener, but Cal coach Mark Fox admitted his team is not ready for Pac-12 competition.
The Bears also suffered a significant injury as freshman Monty Bowser had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance after hitting the floor hard and suffering an unspecified injury. Fox noted in a postgame video below that Bowser seems to be doing OK, although his information was limited.
No one was in Haas Pavilion Monday except for players, coaches, game officials and a few media members. So it was a quiet night.
Cal (2-1) got its first win of the season over a Division I opponent, but its offense will have to be more efficient for the Bears to have a chance in their first Pac-12 game on Thursday against 25th-ranked Arizona State at Haas Pavilion.
"Do I think we're ready? We're not," Fox said in the video above. "We're going to have to overachieve."
Cal committed 20 turnovers against the Colonels, and the Bears got to 60 points only because it made a bunch of free throws in the closing seconds as Nicholls fouled in desperation.
"As strange as it sounds it's good to make mistakes," Cal coach Mark Fox said afterward. "It's what you need to grow and learn."
Matt Bradley led the Bears in scoring with a career-high-tying 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting, and Grant Anticevich added 11 points. Anticevich hit 3-of-6 three-point attempts after going 0-for-6 from long range in the first two games.
Nicholls State shot 33.9 percent from field and committed 18 turnovers. And Fox was pleased with his defense.
Offense was a different story.
"With the limited practice time that we've had, offense is going to take a while, and we were sloppy," Fox said.
Nicholls State (2-2) trailed by 15 points early in the game, but was within two points seven minutes into the second half. The Colonels were still within four point with 8:01 remaining before the Bears reeled off 11 straight points to take a 15-point advantage at the 3:21 mark.
"Obviously we're a little behind where we want to be," Anticevich said in the video below, "just because of the fact that our preparation up to this point has been disrupted."
The first half was an offensive mess. Cal shot just 26.7 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes, yet still led by five points at intermission, 23-18.
The Colonels shot 33.3 percent from the floor and committed 11 turnovers in the first half. Cal led by as many as 15 points at 21-6, but scored just two points over the final seven minutes of the half.
NOTES
---Bears freshman Monty Bowser played just 14 seconds off the bench before he landed awkwardly on his back after making a basket from close range. He sustained an injury that forced him to leave the game, and he did not return. Fox said he was taken to the hospital by ambulance and was told Bowser is doing fine, but he had no further information.
---Cal's starting lineup on Monday consisted of Ryan Betley, Matt Bradley, Makale Foreman, Lars Thiemann and Grant Anticevich.
---Nicholls State, which is located in Thibodaux, Louisiana, plays in the Southland Conference and went 21-10 a year ago. Prior to playing Cal this season, Nicholls State beat UC Davis and Idaho State before losing 73-57 to Santa Clara on Saturday. Nicholls was picked to finish fourth in the 13-team Southland Conference in the preseason media poll.
---Cal opens its Pac-12 season on Thursday at home against Arizona State, which was picked to finish second in the Pac-12 in the preseason media poll. The Sun Devils are 2-1, with wins over Rhode Island and Houston Baptist and a loss to Villanova. The Bears' second conference game is against Pac-12 favorite UCLA on Sunday on the Bruins' home court.
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